About Us
Providing opportunities for those we support, our colleagues and our communities to fulfil their potential
Celebrating 35 years
SHC celebrated its 35-year anniversary in 2020 and is the largest provider of residential services in Sussex.
With nearly 600 employees, SHC provides specialist care for individuals with a range of personalised care packages, promoting person-centred care and support. With a head office near Horsham, West Sussex, the company also has an onsite training academy to support its staff by providing more than 9,500 courses a year.
More than just a home
Good health is much more than just the absence of illness. We recognise that leisure, social and recreational activities are essential to a person’s overall good health and sense of well-being. Good health is also enhanced by a sense of community, not just in our homes, but around them as well.
Every home provides a full programme of activities to stimulate, motivate and interest the individual, encouraging them to use their capabilities to the fullest extent. Activities are selected by individuals, based on their previous interests as well as their current abilities. Participation and initiative are encouraged, old skills and interests are recalled and new ones are learned.
SHC offers a range of individualised care packages promoting personalised care and support. Additional services include respite care, sensory rooms, hydrotherapy pools and spas, activities, transport, physiotherapy and several holistic therapies.
Our vision
Our vision is of a society where each person, regardless of age or ability, is given the opportunity to live their life, their way.
Our mission
To deliver best practice by listening, acting and operating in an effective, innovative and evolving way, providing opportunities for those we support, our colleagues and our communities to fulfil their potential.
Our history
Through the years
The organisation was founded on the principle of providing the very best in care and support, and that remains the case today. Established in 1985, with the acquisition of Clemsfold House, a home providing residential care for older people, SHC has expanded and developed its service provision, adding a further 7 homes between 1985 and 1995, and then focussing on building purpose-built facilities of exceptional and unrivalled standards.
Present day
Today, we are one of the largest providers of residential and nursing care in Sussex, offering specialist care for individuals and a range of care packages that promote personalised care and support for people with complex learning disabilities, acquired brain injury, those with autism and older people with long term conditions such as dementia. We employ nearly 600 people who live locally or in our purpose-built staff accommodation.
I can not praise the staff at Upper Mead enough! Staff are friendly, helpful and willing to go that extra mile not only for our cousin but for us, as we live quite a distance away. Our cousin is happy and feels she is looked after very well. Staff have been brilliant with regards to providing a safe and caring facility under the difficult times of Covid. A huge thank you to all the staff at Upper Mead!
Relative of resident at Upper Mead, November 2020Your life, your way
Mum went to Upper Mead on 18 November 2019 after 13 weeks in the hospital finally diagnosed with delirium/dementia and too weak to walk. Mum is a naturally unsocial person and has lived on her own for 20 years, but in a week or so she had been on an outing and had made a friend. She was also walking
Daughter of resident at Upper Mead, November 2020
with the aid of a zimmer. Although mum has deteriorated over the last year and spends more time in her room because of her heart condition that makes her tired, she is extremely well cared for by the excellent care staff, and on my last visit recently proudly showed me her painted nails done by Upper Mead staff. Mum also has her hair cut and blow-dried which makes her looks lovely. Last Christmas Day we were invited to join mum and her friend for Christmas lunch for a very small cost. We had a lovely time. It is a shame COVID has got in the way this year but we know mum is in very capable hands. Thank you, Upper Mead.Your life, your way
My son has extremely complex medical needs requiring one to one care 24/7. He has lived in the home for nearly 10 years and I have always been extremely pleased with the high level of care he receives. He has a team of carers who go beyond the call of duty to ensure his safety and happiness. He is calmer and happier than he has ever been in his life. All the staff is friendly and helpful and communication with the home is very good. A new online reporting system is improving written records. I am very satisfied with the home. Highly recommended
Mother of resident at Orchard Lodge, June 2020Your life, your way
Memberships
Our vision is a society where everyone can enjoy the same rights and opportunities.
Professor Gerry Simon set up BILD in 1971 because he was convinced there could be better support in the community for people with disabilities. We have been championing the human rights of people with disabilities ever since.
We work to develop the skills and culture necessary to understand people’s needs and improve their quality of life. Our approach applies a rigorous evidence base, broad expertise and long-standing experience to find and enable both short and long-term solutions that bring about
National Care Association remains the most established, respected and largest of the trade bodies due to our strong ethos of putting members at the heart of all that we do
NCA is a supportive hub for care providers with access to recruit safely (using our DBS service), support and advice from experts, up to date personalised toolkits, information on key developments nationally and locally through national and local conferences and seminars. Additionally, there is access to discounts on products and services and much more…
Being part of NCA brings peace of mind when needed the most: our members know that we will help, advice and support them through thick and thin.
Care England, a registered charity, is the leading representative body for independent care services in England.
Working on behalf of small, medium and large providers, Care England speaks with a single unified voice for both members and the whole care sector. Our membership includes organisations of varying types and sizes, amongst them single care homes, small local groups, national providers and not-for-profit voluntary organisations and associations. Between them they provide a variety of services for older people and those with long term conditions, learning disabilities or mental health problems.
Care England is committed to supporting a united, quality conscious, independent sector that offers real choice and value for money. Our aim is to create an environment in which care providers can continue to deliver and develop the high quality care that communities require and deserve.
Our aim at NAPA is to ensure that every care and support setting is full of life, love and laughter.
We value the uniqueness of every person and their right to a meaningful conversation every day, the right to person-centred meaningful engagement with choice and control over how they spend their time, and activity provision which is respectful, creative, innovative and fun supported by skilled staff.
We will aspire to meet our aims through being an effective training, assessment and qualification awarding body, having robust finances enabling us to maintain our services and develop new ones, building partnerships with like-minded organisations, and setting the standard in training and leadership for activity provision.
Careers and training
An enthusiastic and motivated workforce is crucial to delivering the standards we set ourselves. In addition, external factors such as new legislation and clinical advances, as well as rising aspirations, present constant new challenges.
This is why SHC places such emphasis, effort and financial support on the training and career progression of staff. Through supervision and appraisal, the training needs of staff members are met, and the employee is given the support to progress within the company. As well as offering fantastic training and career progression, SHC also provides subsidised meals, increased Holiday allowance with length of service, subsidised staff accommodation, free uniforms, and a free staff bus service.
Don’t just take our word for it, find out from our SHC employees:
Diana Bican, Care Home Manager of Kingsmead Care Centre:
“I have worked for SHC for almost five years. In 2014 I started as a Registered Nurse for SHC and I knew in that moment that this would change my life completely.
When I started working at Kingsmead Care Centre, I realised that I really wanted to progress my career within the organisation. SHC has provided me with all the support and encouragement that I have needed to further my ambition.
My goal was accomplished in 2018 when I took on the role as Care Home Manager for Kingsmead Care Centre. After my own journey at SHC I would encourage anyone to go for it!”
Danielle Garside, HR Administrator:
“I joined SHC in 2018 as a Business Administration Apprentice, working in the Learning and Development Team. Upon completion of my apprenticeship, I was given the amazing opportunity to join the HR department as an HR Administrator. I’m really enjoying the new challenges this role offers and I’m very excited to progress further in this field.”
The training programme takes place within the framework of an annually revised plan that ensures the organisation is able to meet the challenges of a fast-changing sector to grow and develop in a new direction of care.
With the support of SHC’s Boldings Brook Training Academy, our teams work closely with consultants and specialist teams such as the National Hospital for Neurology in Queens Square, The Royal Hospital for Neurological Disorders and Guys and St Thomas hospitals. These close links enable staff teams to provide a unique understanding to the people we support with neurological conditions or acquired brain injury.
Want to work at SHC? Visit our careers page today.My Brother has been a resident since October 2019 and I'm very happy with the level of care he has received at Woodhurst Lodge. The facilities which are situated in a pleasant location are clean, spacious and well equipped. The staff is always welcoming and obviously appreciates the difference that receiving visitors can make to their residents' well being. Currently, I'm reassured to witness the stringent control measures that have been put in place to protect residents and staff against Covid-19. through every circumstance, I can see that the staff have sought to respect my brother's preferences and wishes whilst keeping him healthy, safe, and buoyant.
Sister of resident at Woodhurst Lodge, June 2020Your life, your way
The staff are always helpful and nothing is too much for them.
Husband of resident, July 2020Your life, your way
Mum has been in Upper Mead for over 2-years and has been very well cared for. When we went into lockdown in March, I was very concerned how Mum would cope without any visitors as she loves to see people, but the staff have been fantastic and looked after her as part of a family rather than just a resident,
Daughter of resident at Upper Mead, December 2020
and because of this, she has remained content and stimulated which is so important for someone with dementia. When I see Mum, she is always clean and tidy and smiling (apart from the odd grumpy day), and I feel confident she is being well looked after, which gives me great peace of mind. The staff have to work incredibly hard but are always cheerful and approachable. If I have any issues, I know they will be listened to and feel able to talk to the management freely. After visits, Mum is happy to return to the main seating area, which she recognises as home, and this is a real measure of how well she has been looked after.Your life, your way